New ride-hailing app says it will operate across B.C.

TappCar, an Alberta-based company, announced Tuesday it’s applying to deliver service in all areas of the province.

If approved by the BC Passenger Transportation Board, they would be the first ride-hailing company to operate outside of the Lower Mainland.

Company spokesperson Pascal Ryffel told Black Press Media that TappCar views B.C. as “a new market that has lots of potential.”

TappCar, which is already running in Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Winnipeg, says they’re used to the tougher regulations B.C. has imposed. In Alberta, ride-hailing drivers must also have their Class 4 licence.

TappCar has applied to operate in four of the five ride-hailing zones in B.C., including the Lower Mainland, Squamish, Victoria and the Capital region, Vancouver Island, Powell River and the Okanagan, Kootenay, Boundary, Thompson River and Cariboo regions.

They will not be operating in zone five, which includes the Peace River area, the Sunshine Coast and the North and Central coastal regions.

Ryffel said the company submitted its application shortly after midnight, when the provincial government said it would allow them, and hopes to roll out across B.C. later this year.

Lyft and Uber have both said they plan to operate in the Lower Mainland.